


to call the forest home

by hquties (timelessidyll)



Series: writober 2017 [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Light Angst, cause shouyou leave his family :(, like coexisting universes/timelines, some fictional elements are thrown in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-07 22:48:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12242127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timelessidyll/pseuds/hquties
Summary: Shouyou wishes for more in his life, an adventure to sweep him off his feet. He only gets part of what he wished, for now at least, in the form of an old man in the forest.





	to call the forest home

“Careful,” they would whisper to him, eyes wide, “this is the old man’s forest. Don’t follow the crows that appear in the trees.” They never told him what happens next. Growing up in this town, he never found out. But he never ventured inside the forest, anyways; because who knows, maybe what the village elders tell him is true.

Shouyou was a very trusting kid, however, and so it didn’t take much for someone else to convince him otherwise. A traveller had stopped by that week, and with foreigners came rumors and distrust amongst the villagers. The children, unaffected by what the adult’s were feeling crowded around the man every chance they got, clamoring for stories. Natsu would drag him outside to listen to his retellings, of fanciful lands and dangerous creatures, and slowly, Shouyou become enamored by the stories that were spun by the traveller’s words.

“How can I find adventure, like in the tales you share?” He asks one day. The man pauses, thinking for a moment, before smiling secretly.

“You must first be willing to venture where none have gone before. Only then will you be able to find a unique experience to share with others.”

Shouyou spent the next two days aimlessly wandering the village, thinking harder on the man’s words than he ever had on his homework. ‘There must be more to this life,’ he thought, ‘than repeating the same tasks every day.’ So on the evening of his fourteenth birthday, when his family slept after a day of celebration, he stood in front of the forest he had spent his entire life avoiding.

When he took his first step inside, Shouyou felt no different than if he had chosen to turn back. There was no sudden malicious intent that would have made his spine crawl, no sudden gust of cold air that would raise the hairs on his arms. But somehow, being there gave him a sense of belonging, that there was a reason he was here. The further he walked in, the more inviting it felt, and before he could truly think about what he was doing, Shouyou had turned down a random path and walked into the darkness of the trees.

He didn’t know how many hours had passed, or even if it was still day. With no idea of the passage of time, he continued walking, drawn into the depths of the forest by a song he couldn’t hear. A fluttering would rise up every now and then, and when Shouyou looked around to see the cause, he saw crows alighting in the trees. He didn’t pause, kept walking despite the burning curiosity and the questions on the tip of his tongue. But he would always look out of the corner of eye to see them watching him. It felt like protection, in a way; from what, he didn’t want to know.

Slowly, signs appeared of where he was heading. The trickle of a stream, only two feet wide, crossed his path, and at the insistence of the crows, he began following it. It continued in a line, refusing to meander more than needed to avoid large piles of rocks. The chill of the air had seeped into Shouyou’s bones long ago, and when he slipped and a single leg fell into the river, he breathed sharply and let out a string of profanities. The crows yelled at him, which was strange, but immediately, he closed his mouth, gritted his teeth, and continued. Next was the beginning of a cliff face to his left, a hill that steadily increased, getting steeper the further he walked by the stream’s side. Then came the river, not crashing and swirling like an angry wolf, but like the stream, a content fawn with no worries. Another opening appeared, leading him closer to the cliff face, and as he stepped on the new path, the scene around him seemed to transform. 

The soft gurgles of the river disappeared, and the dark green of the plants around him vanished, leaving bright purples, pinks, and yellows in their wake. The flowers seemed to glow in the darkness, an eternal twilight, and it stole his breath to see so many colors at once. A voice reached his ears, vastly different from the harsh caws of his entourage.

“Welcome, Shouyou. I’m sorry if the walk here was unpleasant in any way.” From out of a wall of vines that seemed to cover a cave, a man approached him. His hair already a graying silver, but rather than make him seem old, it only made him seem timeless. He wore a brown trousers and a plain, rumpled sand colored shirt, and as unkempt as it looked, it reminded Shouyou of his grandfather. The man in front of him gave him that same feeling of wisdom and calm. Despite this, however, he couldn’t help but be reminded of the warning the elders gave, even though he longer believed their words.

“Are you the old man who lives in these woods?” He questioned, head listing to the side. The man chuckled deeply in response, turning around and beckoning Shouyou to follow him inside. Brushing past the vines, he took a moment to examine the interior. Tunnel-like corridors branched off from a central room with a variety of cushions scattered across the floor.

“Sit, please. It’ll make what you’re about to hear more bearable.” Hesitantly, he complied, settling down on a bright orange one, and the man sat in the only chair present in the room.

“You’re here for a reason, of some sort. Perhaps you already knew that,” he said, looking at Shouyou closely when he nodded. “All the boys who come here came because they felt a calling, somehow. Be it to the sea, river, forest, or mountain. They end up here, and it is my job as a Keeper to aid them in whatever their talent is. I am Ukai, and you only need to know me as such. It’ll be less confusing when you meet my son.” He smiled grimly at that thought, as if there was some hidden joke behind his words. Shouyou licked his parched lips.

“What does that mean? Am I stuck here?” Ukai looked at him oddly, as if the thought of being trapped hadn’t crossed his mind.

“No, you’re not. But you’ll never be able to go back to your old life. Because you were able to come here, you no longer exist on the same plane as your family. If you try to juggle both existences, you will only suffer more. It’s better to cut all ties now rather than regret it later.” He remained quiet for some time, weighing his thoughts. This world was new, and the familiarity of his village seemed so tempting in the face of the unknown. But he remembered the words of the traveller, and he steeled his will for what was to come.

“Can I say good bye to them?” Sympathy crossed the man’s face and he nodded, getting up to lead Shouyou back outside.

“Exiting the path will take you back to where you entered. Be quick. One of my crows will accompany you.” Before he stepped across the path, Shouyou felt a weight land on his shoulder, and when he turned his head, the bright eye of a crow stared back at him. A grin fell over his face as he reentered his world.

Finding a way to leave his family without giving away too much information was a struggle. In the end, he settled for a direct conversation. It was difficult to leave, with how much his mother started crying and Natsu clinging to his legs, begging him not to leave, but he convinced them it was for the best. They believed he would be setting off on an adventure to become a warrior, and while that used to be a dream of his, the stark reality was far different. He didn’t have the heart to tell them the truth. The crow had sat outside on the roof of their house, patiently eyeing the door for when Shouyou would come out once more. He did, with exhaustion in his steps and sorrow in his eyes.

He returned to the cave, and Ukai gave him cup of ginger tea.

“Shimizu made it. You’ll meet her soon enough.” He stayed quiet, and Ukai sighed. “You had to do it, kid. There was no way you could’ve handled both lives, and I’ve seen some try.”

“Doesn’t make it any less difficult,” he murmured.

“While that is true, don’t spend the rest of your life thinking about it. From now on, you have to focus on your true purpose. Welcome to the Guild, kid. We’re all here for a reason, and now it’s time to find yours.”

**Author's Note:**

> so guys  
> i'm back for writober!  
> i'll be following a prompt list that's actually for inktober but i really liked the ideas so i'm gonna use them.  
> i hope you stay with me for the stories i will attempt to post each day this month!


End file.
